A child born today in Canada has a life expectancy of 80 years or more. Other first world countries' life expectancy rates are similar. And I think most of us have family members or friends who have gone on to have rich lives into their 90s.

In light of this, I have a simple question for most kids (and their parents): “What’s the rush?”

Why is there such a sense of urgency for children to decide what they want to do for the rest of their, hopefully, long lives?

Consider being in the shoes of a 17-year-old kid when an adult asks them what they going to do with their life? Or, in other words, what they want to do for the next 70 years? As an adult, how would you respond if someone asked you today if you had the next several decades of your life all mapped out?

According to the National Centre for Education Statistics and The Association of Boarding Schools, there are over 100,000 public elementary and secondary schools in North America. There are approximately 30,000 schools classified as “private.” And, there are only 300 schools classified as “boarding schools.” In short, boarding schools represent approximately 0.25% of the schools in North America, and less than 0.1% of schools around the world. To say that boarding schools are a “niche market” is an understatement.

Furthermore, of those schools that self-identify as boarding schools, a significant number of them would have less than 20% of their student body as boarders, and many of those same schools would offer a five-days-a-week boarding program.

The vast majority of parents, when asked what their primary wish or concern for their children is, respond with, “I just want my kids to be happy.” The start of a new academic year has now commenced and, I can assure you, that kids want the same thing: to be happy.

We all do. The challenge for schools, parents and kids is how to achieve this happiness.

Let me quickly posit a solution to resolve this question of “how.” In short, in order to achieve long term happiness we need to be meaningfully engaged in a purposeful activity of relevance and significance which enhances a community and one’s self. Or, as a kid might say: Do stuff you like, with people you like.

The conundrum with this, however, is that if we only did what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it, with the people we always wanted to be with, we would ultimately be unhappy.

When my daughter was quite young she was given a dream catcher. Like most dream catchers, it had a small circular wooden frame (maybe 8” in diameter), with artfully woven strings across the center of the circular hole, which created a net or web of sorts. Jasmine’s dream catcher was embellished with beads and a feather. It hung beside her bed. The purpose, according to many First Nations People, is for the dream catcher to filter out bad dreams and allow good dreams to pass through. She loved it and said that it worked!

I have long wished that I had one of my own.

Since adolescence, never have two words interrupted my sleep patterns more than the words: final examinations. Each word, in itself, is so weighty. And combining the two words can result in nothing short of pure fear! Those two words have provided rich content for my own nightmares over the past 40 years.